Another Side
by Darkchanter
Summary: A new side to Fitz. A deeper understand of who he is and why he acts the way he does. What happens when he gets closer to Clare and wants to be friends? Or when Clare wants the same thing? Drama is promised. One sided Flare. Obvious Eclare.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm back with my second story and I feel great about it! It's going to be chapter based and I plan on uploading a new chapter every 3-4 days. I wanted to try a new approach to some of the stories revolving around Fitz, so I hope you like it. The first chapter will be a bit slow, but I promise that it will get better. Comments and critiques area always welcome!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own a cell phone, a laptop, and Softlips Chapstick, but, alas, no Degrassi.**

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They didn't get it. No one did. To them, all I ever am is a bully; a loser who enjoys making people feel weak. And to be fair, it's somewhat true. I don't mean it, not exactly. It's just something I do; an impulse of habit. There's a rush I get when I face someone shrink away in fear- It's the adrenaline pumping; the exhilaration. I finally have control. I can finally say I've conquered something and that I'm the one holding the victory. But, it's when I face someone who doesn't just submit that I feel the real high. It's the challenge.

"Fitzgerald, Mark?"My name was called and reluctantly I stood up from my seat and headed over to the main desk. The woman looked up at me through thin, wire-framed glasses and it was that look of sheer disappointment that made me sneer in disgust, "Your Learning Coach will be in room 204 after school. Can you confirm the subjects you need help in?" Her tone was mostly blank, cold and uninterested; the slight chill of an attitude was barely audible to anyone who wasn't experienced with disappointment. But I heard it. I always hear it. She was just a librarian; but because I wasn't one of her precious books, all I was to her was trash. Though, that's not entirely true. I've seen the librarians talk to kids before and they always have this neat and tidy, picture-perfect image. So nice and helpful… Maybe it was only me who was trash.

_Learning Coach._ It's as if they think putting a fancy new name on the word "tutor" will make the kid feel any better about themselves. "Yeah, pretty much everything," I shot back. Though, when she looked up from her sheet, arms crossed over her chest, I caved, "but, uh, Algebra really. And Chem."

This is why I hated school so much. It was people like the librarian, someone so stupid and pointless, who made me feel inferior just by giving me a look. I can't fight a teacher. I can't show my strengths and prove to them that I'm more than just some kid failing classes. I can't be anything more to them than a disappointment. But that's how my life goes I guess; one disappointment after another.

"Right…"she said, looking down at her sheet again, "it'll be up to you two to decide what the schedule will be. However, your Learning Coach will be checking in to tell us of the progress." There was that look again; the look that said,_ "So we'll be checking in to make sure you actually show up." _Do they honestly think I would skip? It's not like I want to fail and stay in this Hell-hole for the rest of my life.

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, ok." I honestly just wanted to get out of here. I have one lunch period out of the whole day, and I really didn't want to waste it in the library talking to some old hag about how I don't fit her expectations. Glaring at her, I took the tutor slip, signed my name, and walked out in a huff. I need to de-stress from all of this. I needed to find a way out. I needed a cigarette.

I walked briskly down the hall, the tension building in my body as the thought of sweet nicotine swelled in my head. It was a bad habit, I know, but it was the only thing that really worked to calm my edge. I started when I was 15; just some punk kid trying to act tough by paling around with Johnny DiMarco and Bruce the Moose. I remember the day I started—we were all hanging out at the Ravine and they were all bagging on me for being straightedge. I tried to act cool, telling them that the opportunity just never came along but they wouldn't take that:

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"_No opportunity?" Bruce laughed and slugged him in the shoulder, "Good thing you met us Fitzy-boy!" He pulled out a pack of Camels and shook the cigarette out of the box, "Come on, let's freshen up those baby lungs of yours."_

_Fitz looked warily at the box, took the cig, rolled it between his fingers and lifted it up to his nose to take a sniff. He glanced over at Johnny who sat reading a book, and wondered if this was the make or break moment. Would he make fun of him? Tell him he was a wimp and never speak to Fitz again? Glancing up from his current chapter, Johnny rose and eyebrow at Fitz, "What's it gonna be, niner?"_

_Fitz's eyes narrowed in determination and extended his hand to Bruce in an awkward attempt to stay cool, "Give me the goddamn lighter…"_

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Just thinking about it made that addictive itch flare up in protest. I needed one, now. It bugged me how much something so stupid like a cigarette would get such a rise; but, I've always had trouble with things like that. I don't have patience for anything. Looking at my cell phone quickly, I sighed when I realized the time, "Fifteen minutes left; damn bitch had me in there almost the whole period…" Immediately I began rushing down the hall towards one of the side entrances that led to the parking lot. I knew where my next smoke would be.

As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by the brilliant sting of sunlight and the slight scent of piss and garbage behind the dumpster. Looking around, I spotted a familiar face and the even more familiar smell. "Yo, Bee! Hit me up, alright?" I walked over to her and was greeted with a mixture between a sneer and a smirk.

"After you ditched us today at lunch? Yeah, I don't think so." She leaned up against the side of the building, taking a long drag from a cigarette and blew the smoke in my face. Damn, I was not in the mood to deal with this…

"Come on. I had to deal with some shit…" She looked at me with a raised eyebrow that said my sad excuse was lacking. I sighed to myself and ran a hand through my hair, "Come on, Bee. I'm not in the mood right now."

She squished the cigarette bud with the heel of her boot as she began walking towards the door. I was really getting annoyed with this. Pulling at my sweatshirt sleeves, I was surprised when she turned around and tossed me a box. Picking it up from my feet, I saw a half filled carton of Camels, "Don't say I never did anything for you." And just like that, she disappeared through the door.

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I had enough time to go through one and a half cigs before the bell rang. As I walked down the hall toward the art wing, I saw Eli traveling in the opposite direction smiling stupidly to himself as he looked down at his cell phone. God, I hated that kid. He's such a sarcastic freak who thinks he can get anything he wants by brooding like an emo.

I couldn't help it. It was impulse. My hand went out like lightening and slapped his phone to the ground. I watched it skid across the floor and smirked to myself as it broke into three pieces, "No cell phones in school. Eli I thought you knew that?" The sarcastic innocence was dripping from my voice and the sheer anger on his face made me feel 10 times better.

"What the hell?" His jaw locked as he took a step forward and looked up with a scowl. "Go pick it up."

"Or what , short-stuff?" My eyes narrowed and my smirk grew into a grin, "You gonna hit me or something? Go ahead, I dare ya." I shoved him in the chest and he fell back against the wall of lockers behind him, "Or are you gonna talk shit and walk away—just like when I broke your precious hearse."

This was priceless. Here Eli was, red in the face, staring up at me with the intent to kill. But the thing was, I knew he didn't have the balls to do it. That's the difference between me and him. He had things to lose. He knew if we fought, his little crew would try and get back at me. Eli wouldn't want his little sidekick or girlfriend to get messed with, now would he? So, he sucked it up. However, his sarcasm made it twice as fun. He's someone who's going to be fun to break.

"Go fuck yourself, Fitz" There it was, the submission. Yet, the wit made it twice as entertaining. I watched him trudge off, picking up the pieces of his cell phone, and mumbling to himself about something or another.

My mood was immediately uplifted. I almost didn't care about the tutoring after school. As I sauntered off to art class, I almost had a spring in my step at the idea of ruining Eli's day. It's not that I'm seriously out to get him. He just annoys me. I wanted him to feel just as bad as he made me feel sometimes…

Art class was slow. I pretty much spent the entire time drawing doodles in pen and ignoring the slide show on Renaissance paintings. I have to admit, art was pretty cool. I get to spend an entire class drawing whatever the hell I want. Usually I do pen work; drawing designs and cartoons of funny things I saw or whatever I thought was cool. Right now I was penning something I thought of in the computer lab. It's a tree with circuits for bark. It was kind of cool because it was growing light bulbs.

"Mark!" My head shot up from my paper and I tried to prepare an excuse before I got in too much trouble. "That's amazingly bold!" Ms. Dawes was looking over my shoulder at the paper and I looked up sheepishly with a grin.

"I… uh, thanks. It's just a stupid little doodle." I looked down at the paper and narrowed my gaze, "I messed up a few times with the circuits. I wanted to make it look like a tree growing light bulbs. It's kind of stupid I guess."

"No, no! Not at all. I love the balance between nature and technology. The pen work is very modern." She placed her hand on my shoulder and looked down at me with a smile, "Keep up the good work. I expect to see the finished product."

It would be an understatement to say I was feeling good. I was finally getting recognition for something other than beating up some kid. I… did something good. A huge grin spread across my face and I felt a new type of determination as I looked down at my drawing. I worked diligently till the end of class.

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The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. History and Chem was boring, but at least I got to work on my sketch during the dull parts. I almost was cheerful as I walked down the hall heading to room 204 where my tutor would be. However, all that changed the second I stepped through the door.

She was sitting at a desk staring intently at two different papers, clearly oblivious to my entrance. Another desk was dragged up next to her, obviously for me, and she seemed so prepared for a perfect afternoon of tutoring. Too bad it was with me.

"Clare?"

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**Oh snap! A cliffhanger in the first chapter? Tehee, this will be a fun fic to write! Comments? Suggestions? Critiques? Go right ahead! I love them all 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back with chapter 2! I forgot to post this in the first chapter, but this is set before the Vegas Dance. This will be important in later chapters. I'm going to keep this short and sweet so you can get on reading!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing in this story is mine except for Kelly, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, and Fitz's mom. I'll probably own a few more characters, but other than that, Degrassi is not mine. **

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"Clare?"

The second I said her name, she dropped her papers and looked up at me in surprise. For a second I thought she was going to leave, but soon her lips curled into a smile and gestured me forward, "Oh gosh Fitz," she laughed lightly and motioned to the seat next to her, "you scared me for a second; I didn't hear you walk in." I was about to apologize but she cut me off, "Why don't you sit so we can get started; you're already 15 minutes late."

Honestly, I was shocked. We've never had the best history together, though to be fair, we've never really had a history. It was always me and Eli. Clare was always just off to the side, seeing everything. But now she's giving me a chance? How am I supposed to handle a situation like that? Should I be nice? Should I talk to her? Ask her how her day was?

"Hi." Yeah, that was all I said. I'm standing here like an idiot, staring at her staring at me, and all I managed to say is hi. Looking at the ground, I clear my throat and walk towards the open desk, "uh, I mean, sure." I lay my bag on the ground and take my seat, looking at the papers on her desk. They were my last Chemistry and Math tests. She was comparing them to her own papers, clearly her marks much higher than my own.

"So," She began by placing my Chemistry test and her test next to each other on my desk, "what are the differences you see here?"

I looked over at her with my eyebrow raised, "uh, you aced it and I failed." Seriously, what was she getting at? I'm not so stupid that you need to talk to me like I'm a baby or something. I know I messed up. Seeing it in black and white doesn't help.

Clare shook her head and rolled her eyes, "that's not what I'm talking about." Was that a little bit of an attitude I heard? Hm, I guess Saint Clare isn't as innocent as I thought. "Here, look at question 5," She leaned over her chair and pointed to the question, "you know how to do the math, but you're not doing the right math to solve the problem correctly."

I looked at her confused, "So…?" Honestly, I really didn't understand what she meant. How can someone do math correctly but incorrectly at the same time.

"Oh boy…" Clare sighed and looked down at the paper. Great, she was getting pissed off at me already. This whole situation was frustrating; I hate not knowing how I'm supposed to act around someone. Suddenly, I was pulled from my thoughts as I heard Clare say my name, "Fitz, relax." I looked at her and she motioned to my leg—it was jumping up and down involuntarily due to my nerves.

"Oh…" I looked at her sheepishly and stopped the movement. What happened next shocked me.

"You can do this, Fitz. You have the skills to do math, it just seems that you don't remember how to do the right math." She grinned slightly at me, "All we have to do is help you remember the right formulas. That's one of the easiest issues to fix."

"So, I'm not dumb?" I felt stupid. Honestly, is my problem really that simple? Then how come I couldn't solve it on my own? It's easy when I'm told what to do, but memorizing things was a completely different story. How can she make it seem to easy? It's probably because it's easy for her.

Clare looked at me as if I was crazy. She began to laugh in disbelief and suddenly I felt very vulnerable. She was laughing at my stupidity; my problem. Yeah, just as I was about to trust her a little, I get slapped in the face with inferiority.

"What? Where would you get that idea? Seriously, that's the craziest thing I've ever hear. You're not—" I wasn't going to take this. Not from Saint Clare. Immediately I stood up from my desk, grabbed my bag, and began walking out the door.

"I don't need this shit. If you're going to laugh about my stupidness, then go hang out with your little boyfriend and sidekick…" I was fuming. I turned the corner out the door and blocked out Clare's calls from the room. I was so out of it that I didn't notice she was following me till I felt someone pull at my arm. Turning around quickly, I suddenly realized just how small Clare was when compared to me. She was tiny; I felt like if I looked at her the wrong way she would break. However, the second I looked at her eyes, I knew I was dead wrong.

"Alright, listen here. I'm only going to say this once so you better listen." Her eyes narrowed menacingly as she placed her hand on her hip to emphasize her annoyance, "First of all, I wasn't laughing about your stupidity, I was laughing at the idea that you think you're stupid. Honestly Fitz, you're not dumb. We just need to work on a few things to help you remember formulas." Her eyes softened slightly as she finished her sentence; she almost looked as if she cared, "Second, you can't keep running out on our sessions the second you think I offend you." She ran a hand through her curls and I watched as they swayed back and forth. Is she blond? Or brunette? Maybe redhead. I couldn't really tell the color, it seemed to be a mixture of all three. I liked it; it was a nice color.

"Fitz!" I snapped out of my daze and heard her foot tap on the ground, "Seriously! You have to pay attention to me! If this is going to work out, you can't keep letting your rage get the better of you. I won't deal with it!" Suddenly I felt really bad for how I acted. I looked down and shuffled my feet a bit, still not entirely sure how I was supposed to act with her. She never was this assertive when I saw her with Eli or Adam. And this is a completely different issue than our little rivalry.

"Sorry… I'll do better. But if you mention this tutoring thing to Eli, I swear—" Before I could finish, she cut me off with her own protest.

"Alright, look. From here on out, you check your male ego, testosterone issues at the door. No more talk of Eli or fighting." How could she make me feel so submissive? It wasn't like she was challenging me, but more like she was calling me on my crap. She wasn't putting up with my shit—that's never happened to me before. "And in return… I'll keep this our little secret."

Clare seemed to amaze me every time she opened her mouth. She's calm and helpful one minute, and fiery and demanding the next. I've never met anyone like her. "Alright. Fine. Why don't we try this again?"

Her smile was back and for some reason I liked it better that way. "How about we try again tomorrow? I think we've had enough drama for one day." She turned around and began walking back toward the classroom. I watched her and when she turned her head, I smirked slightly, "And don't be late this time."

"Yeah, alright, Teach. I gotcha."

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"Hey, I'm home!' The second I walked through the door, I immediately smelled my mom's sweet potato pie. It was a good smell, it smelled like calm. My nerves relaxed and I slumped on the couch with a sigh. I looked around at the cramped rancher, seeing the laundry and papers strewn all over the place, but it didn't really faze me. I grew up in this house; I made that stain on the rug when I spilled my hot chocolate Christmas morning, I was only 5. I know it wasn't much, but it was enough to call home.

My mom walked into the living room, wiping her hands on a towel and smiled. She looked tired, like always, but she still seemed so alive. "Oh Mark! You're home. Do you think you could—"

"Maaarrrk!" The breath left my lungs when I felt something, or rather someone, jump on my stomach and wrap their tiny arms around my neck. "Mark, why are you home late? I thought you were going to pick me up from school like always!"

"Aw I'm sorry, Kelly. I had some school stuff to take care of." I stood up from the couch and lifted her up in the air, spinning my six year old sister around. "How about I take you out for ice cream after dinner?"

"Can I get rainbow sprinkles?" She laughed and screamed with delight at I spun her, lifting her upside down and shaking her with a grin.

"You can get all the rainbow sprinkles you want." I looked over at my mother for an approving nod. Her tired eyes looked at me and down at my sister's smile and gave me a reluctant nod. I grinned and placed Kelly back on the ground, messing with her hair in the process. "Hey kid, let me talk to mom for a second. Why don't you go start your homework or something?"

"Alright! Are you going to help me tonight? I have to color a whole map of Canada!" Kelly tried to fix her messed up hair, but only made it worse. I grinned and told her I would, watching her skip off to her room.

I followed my mom back into the kitchen and watched as she fixed the ham and took the potatoes out of the oven. I saw the slight peppering of her dark hair with the grays of early middle age, but she still looked young and pretty. It was hard sometimes, seeing my mom always so tired and worn down. I sometimes forget that I'm the reason she's so stretched to her limit.

She had me when she was only 19, dropping out of college to start a family with my dad. Although she doesn't say it, I know she wishes she could go back to school. She always wanted to be a doctor, for kids, you know, taking care of them when they were sick. But she had to have me.

"Mark," I looked up and watched he cut up the carrots, her hands gentle but firm. "can you set the table?" I nodded and began placing three sets of forks and napkins along the square table. "I need you to do a favor for me when you take your sister out for ice cream tonight."

I looked up and nodded, taking the pitcher of ice tea out of the fridge, "Yeah, sure. What do you need?"

"I hate to ask you this, but can you stop by Mr. Harvey's place and tell him I can't pay him for the car repairs just yet? I'll get my check on Friday and he'll have it by Sunday at the latest, alright?" She began fidgeting with the vegetables a little, arranging and rearranging them on the plate. I took a breath and tried to stay calm.

"Yeah sure. I'll ask if I can pick up a few hours at the garage and maybe he'll cut the cost." I wanted to do everything I could. Kelly was growing like a weed and going through clothes and shoes like crazy. I was sort of glad she was a bit of a tomboy; Mom would give her some of my old clothes and try to make them seem less boyish.

"No sweetie, it's fine. Just talk to him for me, alright?" I agreed and called Kelly for dinner. She ran into the kitchen and began telling us about who she played with during recess. It was fun and we all joked around for a bit. Kelly and I cleaned up the dishes while my mom took a nap on the couch. I only woke her up to tell her that we were going out

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This was nerve wracking. I hated going to Mr. Harvey's garage. You either get him in a good mood or a bad one, depending on if his wife was there. Luckily I had Kelly there as my secret weapon. I knew Mr. Harvey couldn't be too harsh on me, at least not now.

The two of us walked up, ice cream in hand, and I knocked on the door. The second the door open, we heard the loud bark of Mr. Harvey's German Sheppard, Max.

"Maxxie!" Of course, Kelly couldn't wait to see the oversized monster. I would have told her to wait by the door, but Mr. Harvey large body stood in the doorway.

"Mr. Fitzgerald. I was sure I was going to see you in the next day or so. Come in." Suddenly my throat felt very dry. I handed Kelly my ice cream and stepped through the door. "Why don't you go play with Max in the backyard, Kelly?" He said with a smile, "This won't take too long." And just like that, I watched as my secret weapon bound off around the house, calling for Max as she opened the fence door.

I walked through the doorway and saw Mrs. Harvey in the kitchen, doing the dishes and humming a tune. I hoped this meant her husband was in a good mood. "Uh, sir, I wanted to talk to you about my mom's car repair payments." He nodded and gave a grunt, waiting for me to continue. "See, she's going to be paid in a few days and she'll get you the money by Sunday."

"You're already two weeks behind. I can't keep giving you free labor and letting you pay whenever it's convenient!" His voice rose steadily and I felt my fist clench in aggravation.

"Listen, she's working as best as she can. There's only so many extra night shifts at the hospital she can work!" I let my anger get the better of me, but honestly, I didn't care. This guy was an ass. He could give us a few more days, it's not like we don't pay when we can.

"I don't like your attitude, boy! You're lucky I'm even letting you pay in installments. Especially with all the work your car regularly needs." Suddenly I remembered what Clare said earlier in the day. I took a breath and checked my rage at the door. This was a time I needed to suck it up and deal with the shit cards dealt.

"You're right, Mr. Harvey." As bitter as those words tasted in my mouth, the image of my mom crashed on the couch kept cycling through my head. "Let me take some shifts at the garage. I'll do grunt work, you know, cleaning, sweeping, whatever. I'll come in before school, after school, on weekends; whatever you want. But please, let my mom pay you when she can."

I couldn't believe I was pleading with a guy who had a car tire permanently stuck up his ass. But I had to do it. I knew that. "Alright." His tone was bitter, but at least he was letting me in. "Come in tomorrow before school, at 6; you'll help me open."

"Yes sir." I took a deep breath and sighed in relief. We exchanged pleasantries and I left the house, calling Kelly as I closed the door behind me.

"Are we going to go home and color my map now, Mark?" Yawning, I looked down at my sister and smiled slightly. Even now at 9:30, she still had so much energy.

"Yeah, I'll help you out kid. But I'm not letting you color my face again." I messed up her hair again as she grabbed my hand and led me home.

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**Awww! It ends on such a sweet note. I promise, drama will unfold, but I thought I might want to tell you a bit more about Fitz's home life. Review for me! I'll love you forever!**


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